Sensex, Nifty snap three-day winning streak; Midcap, smallcap outperform

The key equity indices snapped a three-day winning run and ended with modest losses on Thursday. A rise in US bond yields spoilt investor sentiment globally. The Nifty closed below the crucial 15,100 mark. Barring media and realty index, all sectoral indices on the NSE ended in the red.

As per the provisional closing data, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, lost 598.57 points or 1.16% at 50,846.18. The Nifty 50 index declined 164.85 points or 1.08% at 15,080.10.

The broader market bucked trend. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 0.48% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index grew by 0.8%.

Buyers outpaced sellers. On the BSE, 1,602 shares rose and 1,374 shares fell. A total of 194 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 2,088.70 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 392.91 crore in the Indian equity market on 3 March 2021, provisional data showed.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 11,51,65,467 with 25,59,576 deaths. India reported 1,73,413 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 1,57,435 deaths while 1,08,26,075 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

Primary Market:

The initial public offer (IPO) of MTAR Technologies received bids for 6.42 crore shares as against 72.60 lakh shares on offer today, according to the stock exchange data at 15:10 IST. The issue was subscribed 8.84 times. The issue opened for bidding yesterday, 3 March 2021, and it will close tomorrow, 5 March 2021. The price band for the IPO is set at Rs 574-575 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum lot of 26 equity shares and in multiples thereof. The IPO comprises both fresh issue of shares as well as offer for sales from promoters as well as investors. The fresh issue component comprises issue of up to 21,48,149 equity shares and the offer for sales comprises sale of up to 82,24,270 equity shares.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) rallied 3.24% after the company said that it is acquiring the 31.5% stake held by Windy Lakeside Investment (an affiliate of Warburg Pincus) in Gangavaram Port (GPL). The acquisition is valued at Rs 1,954 crore and subject to regulatory approvals, the company said in a statement.

Infosys fell 1.09%. The IT major announced that it would be bringing 500 jobs to Calgary over the next three years, doubling its Canadian workforce to 4,000 employees by 2023.

Great Eastern Shipping Company (G E Shipping) fell 1.25%. The company has signed a contract to buy a secondhand Supramax Bulk Carrier of about 56,103 deadweight tonnage (dwt). The 2013 Japanese built vessel is expected to join the company’s fleet in Q1 FY22.

Bajaj Electricals was up 2.25% and Mahindra Logistics (MLL) rallied 5.97%. MLL signed an agreement with Bajaj Electricals for innovative logistics optimisation and outsourcing. This deal is a complete end-to-end re-design and outsourcing of Bajaj Electricals’ entire logistics by Mahindra Logistics, with the twin objectives of achieving enhanced & industry-best service levels, coupled with a logistics cost saving in excess of 25%. The total contract value of this deal will be in excess of Rs 1,000 crore over the next 5 years.

Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) surged 4% after the company’s electricity market reported a volume of 6769 million units (MUs) in February 2021, registering a year-on-year growth of 50%.

RailTel Corporation of India fell 0.82% .The PSU company received an advance purchase order amounting to Rs 25.46 crore per annum from Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) for commissioning of the point-to-point links. The advance purchase order issued for the said work will be valid for a period of one year and further extendable by two years, the company further said in a BSE filing made during market hours today (4 March 2021).

V.S.T. Tillers Tractors advanced 2.36% after the company entered into a share purchase agreement (SPA) for an investment of $1,500,000 (about Rs 11,07,15,000) in series A preferred stock of Zimeno Inc. Zimeno Inc is an unlisted company incorporated in the United States of America (USA). Zimeno Inc is in the development of electric autonomous tractor. After the allotment of Series A preferred stock, the company’s shareholding in Zimeno will be about 2% on fully diluted basis.

Alembic Pharmaceuticals fell 0.56%. The drug maker announced that its joint venture (JV), Aleor Dermaceuticals has received the final approval from the US drug regulator for its Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for testosterone gel, 1.62%. The approved ANDA is therapeutically equivalent to the reference listed drug product (RLD), AndroGel 1.62%, of AbbVie Inc. (AbbVie).

Global Markets:

US Dow Jones Futures were down 114 points, indicating a weak opening in the US market on Thursday.

Shares in Europe and Asia declined on Thursday following an overnight slide on the Wall Street as bond yields rose again.

US stocks posted heavy losses on Wednesday as rising bond yields spooked investors. The weakness came as the 10-year Treasury yield extended gains. The benchmark rate climbed to a high of 1.49% on Wednesday before retreating slightly. Last week, the yield surged to a high of 1.6% in a move that some described as a flash spike.

The U.S. economic recovery continued at a modest pace over the first weeks of this year, with businesses optimistic about the months to come and demand for housing robust, but only slow improvement in the job market, the Federal Reserve reported.

In oil developments, OPEC and its non-OPEC partners – an energy alliance sometimes referred to as OPEC+ – are expected to convene via video conference on Thursday to discuss how to manage supply to the market.

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